Hey, I know you hate marketing and advertising. I do too. They're annoying, intrusive, and sometimes downright deceptive. But let's face it: they're also necessary if you want to sell something.

Global advertising was expected to reach $780 billion. Of that, digital advertising was expected to reach $492 billion. It is estimated that the United States spent an estimate of $343 billion and an estimate of 63% was spent on the internet. That's an enormous amount of money.

But...

Think about it. How are people going to know about your amazing product or service if you don't tell them? How are you going to stand out from the crowd of competitors who are vying for their attention? How are you going to convince them that you're the best choice for their needs?

Marketing and advertising are not evil. They're tools. And like any tool, they can be used for good or bad purposes. It's up to you to use them ethically and responsibly.

That means being honest, transparent, and respectful. It means providing value, not just hype. It means solving problems, not creating them. It means building relationships, not spamming.

If you do that, you'll find that marketing and advertising can actually be fun and rewarding. You'll get to share your passion with the world, connect with your ideal customers, and grow your business.

I have to admit, I have very little to spend on advertising. I used all of my book royalties to advertise on Facebook, so I spend just about every day posting my products on social media, writing blogs and tending my website. It takes up most of my time, but that's the price I pay in order to get my products known.

So don't be afraid of marketing and advertising. Let loose of a bit of your income whether it's print-on-demand commissions or royalties from your book, or lots of time. Embrace marketing and advertising as an evil necessity if you're selling something.

Check out my children's books for ages 2 - 5. They're beautifully illustrated and make great bedtime stories.

The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree

The Cloud Show

Dream of Making/Earning Extra Money or Income

I dream about making extra money all of the time. Some questions I ask myself are, "What can I sell on Craigslist?" "What legitimate websites offer opportunities to earn extra income?" "How can I optimize my website and blogs using the tools Google (and other search engines) offer?"

Using Craigslist was easy but a hit and miss endeavor. It involves testing items to sell. Last Spring when I started my garden I decided I would test selling young, three inch tall sunflower and tomato plants. Once they were to height, I listed them in two separate listings for $2 each. The listing titles simply said, "3" Sunflower Plants", or "3" Tomato Plants".

To my surprise, I sold them all and had to plant more to sell. I concluded young plants generate interest as Spring gets underway; that next Spring I will plant other flowers in addition to the sunflowers and vegetables in addition to the tomatoes. I will also ask $3 for the young seedlings upping the price by $1.

On the other hand, I have listed two solid wood end tables. These I listed at $10 each. The post generated interest but nobody was willing to pay $10 each for solid wood end tables. I'm not willing to go down on price because they're solid wood. That people don't want to pay my asking price leads me to believe people who can afford new furniture don't shop Craigslist.

I have also tested hand painted wine bottles, new teddy bears, Styrofoam(TM), plastic vases, homemade candles, etc. None of the items sold.

The thing about test marketing is this: The success (selling the item) or failure (not selling the item) depends on many factors like the time of year, consumer confidence, if people are able to get out and about to purchase (i.e. is there a virus going around or is there flooding), if what you're selling is desirable. There are more factors to consider but you catch my drift.

But I'm not letting up testing unsold items on Craigslist. I will continue listings those unsold items but I will change the verbiage, pictures, or pricing. Any one of these changes might make a difference as to whether I sell the items or not.

The other two questions I asked myself (see first paragraph) I am still researching. I'm sure to find the answers at some point.

Finding Inspiration in the House & Copyrights

I look around the house for things to scan to use in my candy wrapper designs.

I've scanned things like western place mats, old family pictures, bits of lace from my grandmother's handkerchiefs and even part of a sand painting. Of course, with things like the place mat and the sand painting I have to alter them as to not infringe on the copyrights of the piece.

This has been done in advertising through the ages. But it doesn't stop with advertising. Songs writers get inspiration from other songs, alter and change one up. Writers get inspired by other writings; use ideas and change them up. It's against the law to use another's work in verbatim and with its (basic) inception, the copyright begins. That's not technically true but it's something I try and live by.

Were I to come up with an idea and voice it someone before I even have it on paper I would be pretty upset if they used my idea. If they had asked if they could use my idea I might say yes. This would give them permission. I might put restrictions on their use of my idea.

However, the moment my idea is on paper it is copyrighted. Usage of other people's work without their permission is a no-no. That is to say unless they have given specific permission and have given specific instructions on how the piece can be used.

There are many clipart artists out there who do just that. Yet there are many artists who merely ask that you provide a link on your website to their website. Others will ask you to simply give them credit.

It's touchy and it's tricky. But if you understand their rights as well as your own, you should be okay. It's just a matter of a little research and reading.

Plodding Toward the Dream

Below: A jar label I designed for my husband's Pico de Gallo. Did I mention he's a wonderful cook?

Getting organized, having enough in my portfolio to show and keeping the website updated all takes time. In order to sell my goods - for that matter - anyone who has goods to sell has to have the goods. It's not any good to walk in to a place cold calling and tell them about your wonderful product if you don't have anything to show. Or that you have a website but there are very few items on it to look at.

Not only do I need a portfolio of designs but I need - as well - samples, lots of wrapped samples. All the candy bar wrappers simply show better if they're wrapped around something. Because I don't want to carry around chocolate bars I cut out cardboard fakes. Yes, they are fake but they show off the product and the customer gets a grand idea of how the end product will look.

And I have to have pages of clipart. Pages and pages of clip art. Although it's easy enough to print out all of these necessities, it's still time consuming and the printer wants ink. Lots of ink. I also have to do a lot of cutting out of things. Then there's the gluing or taping to make the end result look professional.

It all takes time and I'm an impatient person. I want to get out there to begin showing my stuff. I also want to get all the "no" responses behind me. But I've had enough experience - life experience - to know it does no good to get impatient. I know that if I keep plodding forward - as slow as it may be - I will eventually be on the road stopping into places and marketing my candy wrappers.

Sometimes it's just a slow process to see out a dream.